Chapter Three The Role of Epigenetic Regulation in Transcriptional Memory in the Immune System

Publication date: 2017 Source:Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology, Volume 106 Author(s): A.M. Woodworth, A.F. Holloway The immune system is exquisitely poised to identify, respond to, and eradicate pathogens from the body, as well as to produce a more rapid and augmented response to a subsequent encounter with the pathogen. These cellular responses rely on the highly coordinated and rapid activation of gene expression programs as well as the ability of the cell to retain a memory of the initial gene response. It is clear that chromatin structure and epigenetic mechanisms play a crucial role in determining these gene responses, and in fact the immune system has proved an instructive model for investigating the multifaceted mechanisms through which the chromatin landscape contributes to gene expression programs. These mechanisms include modifications to the DNA and histone proteins, the positioning, composition, and remodeling of nucleosomes, as well as the formation of higher-order chromatin structures. Moreover, it is now apparent that epigenetic mechanisms also provide an instrument by which cells can retain memory of the initial transcriptional response, “priming” the genome so that it can respond more quickly to subsequent exposure to the signal. Here, we use the immune system as a model to demonstrate the complex interplay between transcription factors and the chromatin landscape required to orchestrate precise gene responses to external stimu...
Source: Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research